


Running Wild and Home Free

by rinnwrites



Category: Leverage
Genre: Familiars, Multi, Parker is HBIC, post-show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 04:50:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15856557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinnwrites/pseuds/rinnwrites
Summary: In a world where everyone has an animal familiar, Parker, Eliot, and Hardison's fit into the crew just as well as their people do.orLeverage Bingo - N3: Free Space





	Running Wild and Home Free

**Author's Note:**

> I had to get my feet wet with the free space but I'll tackle some actual bingo prompts soon XD

Fin was laughing, and Hardison was annoyed. 

The air was often filled with Eliot’s familiar’s cry - the noisy little creature he was, particularly when his person was out of sight. The largest and fiercest of their familiars, the hyena was also the only one to stray quite so far from his person without orders. Hardison thought it was a sign of a weak familial bond - Parker knew the opposite. 

There was a faith between Fin and Eliot that even her own bond with Roo didn’t come close to. She could send her gyrfalcon soaring high above her, in and out of buildings, miles away in altitude or ground distance - but she felt a tug. It was an empty aching feeling, cold and sorrowful - it gnawed at her until Roo perched on her shoulder again, where she could ruffle his feathers and settle them both.

She wasn’t sure if Eliot didn’t feel the tug when his familiar wandered off, or if he was just strong enough to bear it - having a piece of his soul removed, free to roam. But he was, for all appearances, unafflicted when he returned to the penthouse after a perimeter check of the building without Fin by his side. The hyena trotted over to him and pressed his snout against Eliot’s knee for the shortest second, then turned tail to resume his chattering laugh as though nothing had changed. 

“Good, you’re back - could you shut that thing up? He’s been mocking me for the past five minutes” Hardison called out in exasperation, eyes never leaving his computer. Kip screeched in agreement - always in agreement, always within reach, Hardison’s familiar sat on his shoulder, intelligent eyes scanning Hardison’s code for mistakes. Parker thought it was odd, with a small familiar that could fit into such tight spaces, Kip would make a good thief - but Hardison used his capuchin for her impressive mind instead of her other talents.

Eliot rolled his eyes and grunted, annoyance rising to match Hardison’s. Parker grimaced, wondering for the 1000th time why the boys couldn’t just get along.

“He’s trying to hurry you up, moron,” he shot towards Hardison, though not unkindly, before turning to Parker to deliver his news. “We’ve got less than ten minutes before security realizes something is up. How long until we’re in the safe?” Fin quieted down, like he was awaiting the answer as well. 

Parker’s eyes shifted over to the safe, occupying an entire wall of the penthouse, bold and flashy - like the resident had nothing to hide inside, or they were just daring someone to check. Her plan for getting them into the penthouse had gone off easily enough, a little roof landing that Hardison would kill her for later, and they were in through an access hatch. The real security was centered around the safe itself, and as they were learning - it was no joke. 

“The entire door is covered by a laser grid - the burning kind - and I’m talking micro-lasers, you couldn’t fit a pencil lead in the spaces between them,” Parker explained. It was basically imperceptible to the human eye, she’d have probably missed it herself if it wasn’t for the warning she’d gotten from Roo, a sense of foreboding deep in her veins that there was more than met the eye when they approached. “Hardison is working on disabling it and-”

“And the grid’s controls are in sectors that reset automatically after a period of time, It’s going to be a very small window that I can get enough of them down at once for Parker to pass through.” Hardison cut in, and Parker just nodded, eyes narrowing in the direction of the safe. 

“Hardison, what if you only needed to disable...60% of the sectors?” Roo fluttered his wings, already catching on. 

“...that would be simpler, slightly. Why?” 

Roo nipped at Parker’s ear from his perch on her shoulder and she nodded, more to herself than the bird, who could feel her thoughts and emotions anyway, “I’d need two or three feet to get in since I can’t see the lasers. Roo can see them and only needs about 10 inches.”

“And how is Roo going to open the safe, exactly?” 

Eliot seemed more curious than incredulous, so Parker just shrugged, “He’s not, I am. I only need to fit my hand in for that, Roo can help me feel the gates so I don’t have to listen for them.” 

Eliot nodded, reaching a hand down to absently scratch Fin behind the ear, “Let’s go then, faster the better.”

“I’m getting there, if I can just get one more sector down before the rest come back online….” Hardison muttered, voice trailing off as he continued typing, only to have his concentration broken as Kip leapt from his shoulder to the desk, pawing his hands off the computer keys to get to them herself. “What the hell Kip, I almost had it!”

His indignant squawk was covered by Eliot’s snort of laughter, his eyes crinkling with amusement as he looked from Hardison and Kip to Parker, “Monkey’s a better hacker than he is.” 

The teasing brought a smirk to Parker’s face and she almost didn’t notice Roo pecking at her hair until a wave of urgency passed through her, “that’s enough down, time to crack this puppy.” Trusting Roo entirely, she reached through the invisible grid and went to work on cracking the safe.

“I can disable one more by the time you’re done, Kip will keep the sectors we’ve downed from restarting and-”

They didn’t find out what else he had to say because a loud crash came from the hallway - the main door of the penthouse being forced open by security. 

“Eliot.” Parker said levelly, the name itself a hasty command.

“I got it,” he answered gruffly, before darting out of the room in a flash with Fin on his heels. Another crash and a fearsome growl were reassuring sounds - their hitters had the situation handled, at least for now. 

“Hardison.” Parker’s voice was soft and focused as she turned the dial on the safe with care, sensing when to stop and start through her connection to Roo. She was looking for a status update on the lasers.

“Parker.” he answered back, more frantically, as the keys clacked under his fingers, rushing to beat her to the punch. 

“ _ Hardison.”  _ Her pitch raised as she felt the final gate through a combination of the metal under her hands and the heightened senses of her familiar. 

The worrisome cacophony of fighting outside the room continued and Parker’s hand hesitated on the safe handle, eyes shifting to Hardison as she pulled down and pushed the door open. 

“Go, go!” he called with a resoundingly final  _ click _ of the enter key. 

Parker stepped back, putting as much space as possible between herself and the safe to give Roo a flying start. The falcon hopped down to her forearm and spread his wings in a majestic two-foot span, flapped them once to gain height and momentum, then pulled them in tight, swooping down and through what was clearly an opening in the imperceptible grid of lasers guarding the safe door. 

“Yes!” Parker cried, heart racing with excitement and relief. There was nothing quite like a good heist to get the blood pumping. As Roo grabbed their target in his talons and spread his wings in preparation to repeat his swooping maneuver, Parker’s attention shifted to Eliot. “Eliot, we got it, do you need extraction?”

An answering grunt came through comms, then a distant cry of pain. “We’ll meet you outside, get to the van.”

Parker didn’t waste time answering, already flipping open her duffle bag to secure a rope to the window frame and dump a set of harnesses onto the floor. She was strapped into her own by the time Roo landed back on her shoulder, dropping a small computer drive into her hand which she tucked carefully into her pocket. 

“Oh no. Uh-uh. You said we’d land on the roof and I did it, but I am not about to  _ jump out this window _ , woman!” Hardison had packed his equipment away and stood looking at her with wide eyes, head shaking back and forth even after he stopped talking. Kip perched on his head and screeched her agreement, bringing a bubble of laughter from Parker’s chest. 

She held up a third, tiny harness, “But I even brought one for Kip!” Her face shone with excitement, not letting the way that Kip scampered down and inside Hardison’s jacket derail her fun.

“It’s either the window, or get caught up here, Hardison, so put on the harness.” She used her boss voice, the one that told the boys she was serious, the one she’d only developed after Nate left her in charge. 

It worked like a charm, Hardison kept grumbling under his breath, and Kip didn’t show her face again, but he stepped into the harness as Parker pulled out a crossbow and loaded it with the rope’s anchoring mechanism. 

“This will anchor into that brick wall down there. You clip your harness onto the rope, say wee, and land safe next to Lucille. Ready?”

She deftly ignored his “No!” and grabbed the clip of his harness, secured it to the rope, and pushed him bodily from the window with a cheery, “Hold on, Kip!”

Hardison’s shriek of terror faded quickly as he slid towards the van, and Parker quickly followed behind him, whooping in excitement as she descended, feeling as weightless and free as Roo, who soared after her, landing on top of Lucille as Parker’s feet daintily hit the ground. 

“That was fun!” she crowed, turning just in time to see Fin trot over to them, a suspiciously crimson stain in the fur at his mouth, followed by a disheveled, but whole, Eliot. 

“Everyone okay?” He asked, giving an exuberant Parker and a shaken Hardison the once-over.

“Girl made me jump out a damn window.” Hadison grumbled weakly from where he leaned against Lucille. 

“You survived.” Eliot pointed out with a smile, cupping a hand around Hardison’s neck while Parker leaned into him - the two giving him what physical comfort they had, whilst each reassured themselves that the others were fine. 

Kip poked her head out to nuzzle Parker’s cheek, Roo fluttered down to sit on Eliot’s shoulder, and Fin sat dutifully at Hardison’s feet. 

They stood for a moment, a crew of six, thrumming with the high of relief, and adrenaline, and  _ getting away with it _ . 

A siren wailed in the distance. 

“Let’s get out of here.”


End file.
